Side-rein checking device.



O. D. SHANK.

SIDE REIN CHECKING DEVICE.

' APPLICATION FILED FEB.9, 1911.

1,030,022, Patented June 18, 1912.

wan w 56 1 2 .5. Mk 90 f 54.2 55 33 H H INVEN'TOR J7 1, L i IOZfljDJZZ/UQ/Zfifidilk'. WITNESSES 2 9 '7 "-BY ATTORNEY coLummAPLANOGRAPH :0, WASHINGTON. n. C

OBEY DILLMAN SI-IANK, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

SIDE-REIN CHECKING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 18, 1912.

Application filed February 9, 1911. Serial No. 607,642.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, OREY DILLMAN Srmnn, acitizen of the United States, residing in Philadelphia, county ofPhiladelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Side-Rein Checking Devices, of which thefollowing is a full, clear, and complete disclosure.

The present invention relates to harness, and particularly to that partwhich comprises side-rein checking devices.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a check-rein thateliminates the objectionable face-straps commonly deemed necessary.

Another object of the invention is to so arrange the side-line as toswing with the turning of tie horses head on a fulcrum substantially inalinement with the axis of oscillation thereof, to eliminate the varyingtension of the bit commonly felt on a horses mouth by the raising andlowering of the head.

A further object of this invention is to provide a simple means foradjusting the position of the above mentioned fulcrum to conform to thevarious sizes of horses heads to which it might be desirable to fit thedevice.

lVith these and certain other objects in view, the present inventionconsists in the details of construction and manner of operationrespectively described and explained in the following exposition of theaccompanying drawings in which like numerals refer to correspondingparts.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side view of a horses head equipped withthe improved side-rein checking device in its preferred form; Fig. 2 isan enlarged view of the hooked support used in the means of adjustmentshown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the link connectionbetween the check-rein and the harness of the back; Fig. t is alongitudinal sectional view of the metallic link shown in Fig. 3; Fig. 5is a second longitudinal sectional view but of a modified form of thelink shown in Fig. 3; Fig. 6 is a second modified form of said linkconnection; Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a modified form of anadjustment for use with light harness; and Fig. 8, a

modification of the device as shown in Fig. 7.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4, the

bridle 1 is represented as comprising a crown-piece 2 and a brow-band 8,secured together at the horses temple beneath a rosette 4, while acheek-strap 55, secured to the billet 5, terminates in a loop in thering 6 of the bridle bit 7, from which also extend rearwardly the linesor driving reins S.

The checking device consists in a symmetrical bit 9 of any suitabletype, with respective rearwardly and downwardly extending apertured ears10 and 11. Passing from the depending car 11 adjacentone end portion ofthe bit to the corresponding ear adjacent the other end portion is achinstrap 12, adjustable in length, and adapted to pass around andbeneath the lower portion of the under jaw. However, it is to beunderstood that, since one of the advantages of the device lies in theomission of the chin-strap in some instances, it is not to be consideredas being a necessary part of the invention.

The check or side-rein 14, substantially as shown in Fig. 1, consists ofthree main portions, namely, the nose-strap 15, check portion 16 andneck portion 17. Beginning with the nose-strap 15, to which is securedpadding 18 on the under side thereof and in any suitable manner, thecheck-rein passes slidably through the rearwardly extending cars 10 ofthe bit 9, and along the cheek to a point 19, in alinement with the axisupon which the head naturally tends to swing vertically and thence intothe neck portion 17, which is itself readily adjustable in length. Fromthis arrangement it is readily seen that with a given adjustment of thisstrap 17, the nose-strap 15 will be automatically adjusted to fit thenose of the horse equipped therewith, since it readily slides throughthe cars 10 of the bit 9. And furthermore, after the nose-strap hasbecome tightened while driving, it will loosen of itself when the horsecomes to a slower pace or a standing position. At the rearmostpart ofthe check-rein the neckstraps from both sides of the head converge andare secured to the harness saddle hook 20 in a manner which will bedescribed later.

The preferred method employed by applicant to adjust the checking deviceto the heads of various horses consists in a perforated billet 22, whichdepends from the rosette e and with the billet 5 forms the lowerterminus of the crown-piece 2, and a hooked member 23 of any suitablematerial, and substantially like the one shown in F 2, through which thecheck-rein passes, and which is normally in hooked engagement with thebillet 22 through one of the perforations therein. The hookeed member 23preferably comprises a Y metal casting with a longitudinally directedhook 2 1, integral with the end portion of the shank 25, and divergentarms 26, forming a yoke between which is mounted a roller 27 on an axialpin 28, which extends through and between the end portions of the arms26 and is secured thereto. It is through the yoke and against the rollerthat the said rein passes in being carried from the bit to the harnesssaddle hook, and by securing the hook 24: of the hooked member 23 in agiven perforation in the billet 22, the cheek portion 16 of the reinswings about the roller 27 as the horses head is turned, raised orlowered, and consequently remains of substantially the same length, thegiven perforation be ing slightly above the point 19 in alinement withthe axis upon which the head oscillates as above referred to.

At the rearmost portion of the checking device, the convergingside-straps 17 pass through a link 30, which is preferably cast, and asshown in Fig. 1, constitutes substantially parallel side plates 31,between which extend two spacing bars 32 and 33, and an axial pin 34 onwhich is revolubly mounted a roller 35 around which part sa1d strapspass. Extending around the bar 33 is a double looped strap 36, forming alink, which in turn connects the first-named link 30 with the harnesssaddle hook 20.

A modified form of the link 30 is shown in Fig. 5, and is designed tostill further decrease the resistance and accompanying wear when usingthe link 30, by embodying a plurality of anti-frictional rollers. In themodification an H-shaped casting is employed, which comprises parallelside plates 37, and which in turn are connected integrally by thecentrally situated bar 38. Adjacent the end portions and extendingbetween the plates 37 are axle pins 39, around which loosely revolverollers 40. The pins 39 are upset or riveted on their ends 41 to securethem to the plates 37, and around the respective rollers 40 pass theside-straps 17 and the link 36. A still further modification of the link30 is shown in Fig. 6, in which simply the ring 43, either round orelongated, connects the straps 17 and the flexible link 36.

For light harness the adjusting means shown in Fig. 7 is designed. Inthis in stance, a short tongue 46 of leather or other suitable materialis secured in any desired manner at an angle to the crown-piece 2, andhas secured thereon a buckle 4.7. Passing through, and in adjustableengagement with the buckle is a short perforated billet a8, terminatingdownwardly in loo-p 49, through which the side-straps 17 pass in lieu ofthe hooked member 23 in the preferred form. The arrangement of theadjusting means shown in Fig. 7, however, may be altered as shown inFig. 8. In this case the crown-piece 2 is bifurcated as before to formthe depending billets 5, and 22, and the end portion of the brow-band 3forms a loop 55 which encircles said crown-piece adjacent the upper endof the bifurcated portion. The rosette a: is shown as having a bail 56extending rearwardly therefrom, over one side of the loop 55, through anenlarged portion of the slit between the billets 5 and 22, over andaround the opposite side of the loop 55, outwardly between said billetsand under the outer side of said loop to said rosette. Secured to thecrown-piece 2 is a tongue 57, similar to the tongue 46 in Fig. 7, and onthe free end of said tongue is a buckle 58 to which is adjustablysecured the billet 48, passing downwardly therefrom to one side of thebail 56 and through the loop 55 in the brow-band 3 and having the loop49 through which the side strap 17 passes. Thus, while the bail 56 holdsthe ornamental rosette in place, it also serves to firmly secure thecrown-piece 2, brow-band 3 and billet 48 together.

From the above description, it is apparent that applicants inventionconstitutes a checking device which affords automatic adjustment of thenose-band, and at the same time a pair of cheek-straps which take theplace of the objectionable face-straps, and which, when the supportingmeans below the ears are adjusted, swing in a vertical plane with thehorses head, without either lengthening or shortening on being movedabove or below the normal position thereof. And furthermore, it is seenthat the arrangement of cheek-straps does not cause an increase indownward pressure on top of the head when the head is lowered, nor isthe bridle pulled forward against the horses ears or the bit forward inthe mouth, as when a face-strap is used.

From the foregoing, it is not to be considered that applicant desires tolimit the present invention to the precise details of construction andarrangement herein set forth, as it is obvious that variousmodifications may be made therein without departing from the essentialfeatures of the invention as specified in the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, its operation and advantages overall known devices designed for a like purpose, what it is desired toprotect by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a harness, the combination with a bridle, of a checking-bit, achin strap having its ends attached to said bit, a nose-band having itsextremities passing freely through the opposite sides of said bit toform checking-reins arranged to extend upwardly and rearwardly on thesides of the head of a horse, and runners attached to the opposite sidesof said bridle through which said reins pass and freely slide, saidrunners being located in substantial alinement with the axis upon whichthe head of the horse turns vertically, the ends of said reins beingattached together, to form a continuous strap passing slidably throughsaid bit and runners.

2. In a harness, the combination with a bridle, of a checking-bit, achin strap having its ends attached to said bit, a nose-band having itsextremities passing freely through the opposite sides of said bit toform checking-reins arranged to extend upwardly and rearwardly on thesides of the head of a horse, runners attached to the opposite sides ofsaid bridle through which said reins pass and freely slide, said runnersbeing located in substantial alinement with the axis upon which the headof the horse turns vertically, and the ends of said reins being attachedtogether to form a continuous strap passing slidably through said bitand runners, and means for attaching said checking reins to a saddle,through which means said reins also freely slide.

3. In a harness, the combination of a checking-bit, a nose-band havingits extremities passing freely through the opposite sides of said bit toform checking-reins arranged to extend upwardly and rearwardly on thesides of a horses head, and runners through which said reins pass andfreely slide, the ends of said reins being attached together to form acontinuous strap freely slidable through said bit and runners.

a. In a bridle, the combination of a checking bit, a chin strap, havingits ends connectedto said bit, a nose-band in slidable contact with theends of said bit and adjustable side reins operative through pivotallysupported runners and attached to said nose-band through said bit.

5. In a bridle, the combination of a checking bit, a chin strap, havingits ends connected to said bit, a flexible nose-band in slidable contactwith the ends of said bit and adjustable side reins slidable throughpivotally supported runners operative to control the tension of saidnose-band.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 28th day ofJanuary, A. D 1911.

. onEY DILLMAN srniux.

\Vitnesses:

ALEXANDER PARK, JOHN A. LYNCH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Gommissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

